The partial remains of tragic Mount Everest climber Andrew ‘Sandy’ Irvine are believed to have been found – 100 years after he vanished.
Irvine disappeared aged 22 with his climbing partner, the renowned mountaineer George Mallory, in June 1924 when they were attempting to become the first people to climb the world’s highest peak.
Some experts believe that Irvine and Mallory, 37, might have actually achieved their goal before perishing, because they were last seen approximately 800feet from the summit and could have been descending when they fell.
The pair were carrying a Kodak camera that, if found, might contain pictures proving they reached the summit nearly 30 years before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953.
What is believed to be Irvine’s foot, encased in his sock and boot, was found on Everest’s Central Rongbuk Glacier, below the mountain’s North Face and at a lower altitude than where Mallory’s remains were discovered in 1999.
Incredibly, Irvine’s remains were identified by the name stitched into his sock: A.C. Irvine. His middle name was Comyn.
Irvine’s family said in a statement that they are ‘deeply moved’ to hear of the find.
A small team sent by National Geographic, made up of Oscar-winning director and climber Jimmy Chin and fellow climbers and filmmakers Erich Roepke and Mark Fisher, made the discovery recently, the magazine announced today.
The remains are now in the possession of the China Tibet Mountaineering Association, the body that issues permits for climbing on Everest’s northern side.
The find has been reported to the Royal Geographical Society, the body that organised Mallory and Irvine’s original expedition, along with the Alpine Club.
Irvine’s family, which includes his great niece and biographer, Julie Summers, has volunteered to compare DNA test results with the remains to confirm they belong to Irvine.
The pair’s Vest Pocket Kodak camera, which Mallory borrowed from fellow mountainee Howard Somervell, has never been found.
It might have contained crucial photographs proving the men had reached the top of Everest.
Mallory’s body was found clad in hobnail boots just 2,000 feet from the summit of Everest in 1999.
He had a rope around its waist and injuries consistent with the possibility that he and Irvine might have fallen while being roped together.
Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay continue to be credited with being the first climbers to reach the top of the Himalayan mountain – which straddles Nepal and China – in their 1953 expedition.
But if Mallory and Irvine did reach the top of Everest first, they would have also been the first to successfully do it on the deadly North Face, nearly 40 years before Chinese climbers accomplished the feat in 1960.
A statement from Irvine’s family said: ‘The Irvine family is deeply moved to hear of the discovery of partial remains of Sandy Irvine.
‘We are grateful to the mountaineering and film team, led by Jimmy Chin, who made the discovery and who have treated it with respect and professionalism.
‘We are happy that the remains are now in the hands of the CTMA.
‘Sandy Irvine was the youngest member of the 1924 Mount Everest expedition and was lost on the upper slopes of the mountain with George Mallory when the two disappeared on 8 June 1924.’
Ms Summers said: ‘It is remarkable that this discovery was made in the centenary year of Sandy’s disappearance.
‘I have lived with this story since I was a 7-year-old when my father told us about the mystery of Uncle Sandy on Everest.’
She added: ‘When Jimmy told me that he saw the name A.C. Irvine on the label on the sock inside the boot, I found myself moved to tears. It was and will remain an extraordinary and poignant moment.’
Mr Chin said: ‘Any expedition to Everest follows in the shadow of Irvine and Mallory,’ said Chin.
‘We certainly did. And sometimes in life the greatest discoveries occur when you aren’t even looking.
‘This was a monumental and emotional moment for us and our entire team on the ground, and we just hope this can finally bring peace of mind to his relatives and the climbing world at large.’
Professor Joe Smith, director of the Royal Geographical Society, said of the discovery: ‘As joint organiser of the 1924 Everest expedition (with the Alpine Club), the Society deeply appreciates the respect Jimmy Chin’s team has shown Sandy Irvine’s remains and their sensitivity toward Sandy’s family members and others connected to that expedition.’
He added: ‘This discovery of his remains provides an element of closure for his relatives and the wider mountaineering community, and we are grateful to Jimmy and his team for enabling this and ensuring Sandy is in safe hands.
‘The Society will continue to assist Jimmy, his team and Sandy’s extended family during what will inevitably be a period of intense global interest.’
British mountaineer Graham Hoyland, 67, who himself searched for Irvine and instigated the expedition that discovered Mallory’s remains, told : ‘I went to Everest nine times in the hunt for what happened to him and his climbing companion Sandy Irvine.
‘The finding of Irvine’s boot, his sock and his left foot reminds me of the indignity that bodies suffer on the mountain, and I remember finding another climber in the icefall, in 1993 whose body was being eaten by dogs.
Originally I was looking for my cousin Howard Somervell’s camera, which Mallory had asked to borrow in 1924 as he had forgotten his own.
‘Somervell told me to go and look for his lost camera as it might prove that Mallory and Irvine got to the summit in 1924 before Hillary and Tenzing in 1953.
‘Somervell’s camera was not on Mallory’s body, so now we should search for Irvine’s remains and try to retrieve the camera, which I should point out belongs to the Somervell family.
‘Then Sandy should be given a decent burial, without pictures of his dead body sold to the highest bidder.’